Recipe – Page 11 – Backdoor Hospitality

Oatmeal Caramelitas

This past Saturday I sold food at a Craft Bazaar. It’s a pretty amazing cause as 5% of the vendor’s profit helps families adopt children. The Adoption Connection sponsors the event, which is a group of families within our church body who have either adopted or are looking to adopt children. I got involved in this four years ago by selling homemade chili and my baked goods. As the years have progressed, so have the Health Department’s operating procedures for permits and what you can and cannot sell at bazaars.

This dials out to me not selling any soup next year, because I could only sell soup from a can. Unless of course, I wanted to pay an $85 dollar permit for a one day event, then I could make soup from scratch. But anyone who’s ever worked in selling food knows that the permit plus cost of food and packaging would not meet the overhead costs. I have done baked goods every year though and my oatmeal carmelitas are a permanent fixture on the menu. People can’t get enough of these and you truly cannot have just one bite.

It’s the gooey goodness of the caramel, the richness & texture of biting into the chocolate chips, and the buttery, salty, crumble of the compacted crust. Yes, it’s seriously that good. I’m salivating just thinking about them. I have realized that food not only has to taste good, but have a wonderful texture to keep me wanting more…especially desserts.

There’s a couple other reasons they’re so gosh darn good.

One they’re not time consuming, but people will think you slaved in the kitchen.
Two, they’re bar cookies (I’m totally a fan of the bar cookie if I know they can taste better than a drop cookie–time saver).
Three, when people eat them, they’re one of those sweet treats that make people’s eyes pop and then the, “OHHH MY Goodness! (with a MMMM added in)”

I implore you to add these to your shopping list, holiday baking, or simply because you need to eat sweet oatmeal love with caramel & chocolate.

Crust mixed together

Bottom crust baked for 10 minutes

The caramel and chocolate chip filling

Top crust and ready to bake for 18-22 minutes.

Oatmeal Carmelitas (printable recipe)

I have been making these for over many, many years now and they’re ALWAYS a hit. The recipe came from a college housemate’s cookbook, but I don’t know the original source. Whoever it was is genius.

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:

12 ounce caramel ice cream topping

3 Tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Combine all of the crust ingredients into a large bowl and mix together on low speed until nice and crumbly. It should resemble a fruit crisp topping. Put about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of the mixture into the parchment lined pan. Your pan should have a layer of packed in crust without making it too thick and not ultra thin. Bake this for 10 minutes.

While the bottom crust is cooking, combine the caramel topping with the 3 tablespoons of flour, till no streaks are left. Once the 10 minutes are up and you’ve removed the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the 1 cup of chocolate chips over the half-baked crust. Then, drizzle the caramel syrup as evenly as possible over the chocolate chips. Take the remaining crust mixture, using your hands and crumble over the filling mixture. You want to try and cover all of the caramel and chocolate chips as if you’re sealing them in.

Return the pan to the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a cooling rack. Once cooled, cover and put in refrigerator for 2 hours. Cut into bars as big or small as you’d like and relish the goodness.

**The original recipe uses walnuts or pecans as well in the filling, but I never put them in. I think it’s about a 1/2 cup of chopped nuts if you’d like to add them. You might want to toast them to make them even better.

**I have interchanged rolled oats with quick oats and I think the quick oats produces a better texture. However, it’s not a big deal at all if you only have rolled on hand.

Promise & Spicy Pumpkin Soup

I’m sitting in my living/dining room looking outside to the glorious picture of sunshine pouring down on the golden leaves left on the tree with the faint hue of blue in the sky. The wind is beginning to breathe big breaths upon the leaves and awaken the gray clouds to another stormy afternoon. But in the meantime, I will enjoy what this brief window of sunshine has to offer. With my oldest being sick the past couple days, we’ve been relegated to “operation indoors” (a.k.a. cabin fever). And as I haven’t had much alone time with her being sick and random sleeping times as a result, then you mix in my youngest who is sleeping during the oldest awake hours…well, that equals one exhausted mama.

So yes, I will enjoy this calm before the storm.

I think it’s fitting that I live in the Pacific Northwest in comparison to the way life is and how they correlate with the seasons here. As the wind and the rains pour down, so is our life at many moments. It’s hard to look past the knee high puddles, shivering bodies, and wind blown hair to remember the rainbow after the storms. And as any person living in the PacNW, they would say, “but it storms so much that the sun rarely gives light for a rainbow.” Too true, leaving us feeling a bit hollow inside.

I like what David Bazan from Pedro the Lion says in his song, ‘Promise.’ (this was Ben and my wedding recessional)

for what i’ve seen so far, i can’t believe my eyes
and what a nice surprise
if i look up and the sky’s not there,
is there any reason i should be scared
when a promise, is a promise, i know
if i look up and the sky’s not there,
is there any reason i should be scared
when a promise, is a promise, i know

I like the certainty which comes from Jesus even when we’re walking (or trying to get up) through life’s stormy weather. I have many things to be thankful for in this day…roof over my head, husband with a job, two daughters without major health problems, picturesque view out my window and I am my beloved’s.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup (printable recipe)

This recipe is from my friend Laura and it’s very forgiving as I have changed things here and there, but two things are for sure..1. it’s easy and 2. people will LOVE it. Plus, for vegans & vegetarians, simply substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Ingredients:

1 Tb oil
1 Tb each, minced garlic and chili powder
1-2 tsp ground cumin (I love cumin)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans or 2 cans (15 oz) chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed & drained
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin
2 cups corn kernels, or 2 cans corn kernels, drained
3/4 cup salsa
salt to taste

In a soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander & garlic and cook for 1 minute, while constantly stirring. Add broth, increase heat to medium-high, throw everything else in, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.

Your soup will eventually start to thicken and resemble the texture of thin gravy, which is what you want. You can easily have this on the table within 30 minutes. Serve it with cornbread and sour cream. You could even use black beans or some other bean of your choice. I prefer the chickpea, but do what you like–it’s truly forgiving. This has a bit of Indian flavor to it and I typically keep adding in more cumin till it hits the right spot.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Marshmallow Cream Filling

As I was perusing the internet I came across this quote:

Churches that have not nurtured a common life among members will find hospitality to strangers difficult. The table is central to the practice of hospitality in home and church. The nourishment we gain there is physical, spiritual, and social. Whether we gather around the table for the Lord’s Supper or for a church potluck dinner, we are strengthened as a community. Meals shared together in church provide opportunities to sustain relationships and build new ones. They establish a space that is personal without being private, an excellent setting in which to begin friendships with strangers.

I don’t remember where I got this or who wrote this, but I find the statement appealing. One it makes me wonder how my church family is doing in this area of life (and how I am doing within the church body). For me, it’s fairly easy to invite people into my home, or my life, to share a meal or drink coffee, in order to know one another. I have the ability to make friends wherever I find myself and (not boasting) if you were to ask Ben, he would tell you, “Kamille has an inquisitive nature to draw people out by asking questions and putting them at ease.” This type of hospitality and welcoming doesn’t scare me, but I know it scares other people (and that’s okay if it does).

However, what’s hard for me in my idealist/dreamer ways is seeing a need for hospitality & community meals in the larger church gathering; yet, it stays fairly idle. I get discouraged, because I read quotes like the one above and say, “YES, we need that to survive, to breathe, to truly know one another.” I get discouraged, because I see people on the fringes not knowing how to make their way in and I’m only one person (who just happens to have two little ones and by default it makes me less available). Does anyone else feel like this? Whether, it be the outsider trying to make your way in or the insider trying to find an opening?

But, in trying to live in the “glass half full” mindset, I see how amazing a meal can bring people together. It’s not HUGE; yet it is! I know I felt incredibly loved & cared for in my postpartum stage with my two girls through people bringing meals. For one, I was simply famished like any mother nursing a schizophrenic sleeper. And two, it’s something I didn’t have to think about. Blessing. We are community friends with four Japanese students who are studying at Western for about six months. We can alleviate some of the language barriers and anxiety by feeding our bellies, and ultimately our souls. Blessing. There’s a young adults gathering called ‘Soup & Story’ through our church body. People who don’t know one another are able to find friendship & be friendship through something simple as soup and bread. Blessing. And I got to make some wonderful pumpkin whoopie pie cookies last week for the new group of freshman at Western. A time when they’re possibly feeling insecure or fearful about being away from home, I can put my baking skills to good use. Blessing.

As I share this recipe with you, I hope you will see the many blessings in your life and ways to shower down blessings on someone else.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Cream Filling (printable version)

Adapted from this recipe by Two Fat Cats Bakery, Portland, Maine My changes were adding ground ginger and using rapadura sugar in place of the granulated sugar. I found this from Bon Appetite.

Ingredients

FILLING

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
2 teaspoons maple extract

CAKE

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup rapadura sugar (you can use granulated)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
15 oz pumpkin puree or 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup milk (I used whole)
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

FILLING

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and maple extract; beat until blended and smooth. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

CAKE

Sift first 8 ingredients into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in another large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions alternately with milk in 1 addition, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Cover and chill batter 1 hour.
Arrange 1 rack in bottom third of oven and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment; spray lightly with nonstick spray. Spoon batter onto baking sheet to form cakes (about 3 level tablespoons each; about 12 per baking sheet), spacing apart. Let stand 10 minutes.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool cakes completely on baking sheets on rack. Using metal spatula, remove cakes from parchment.
Line cooled baking sheets with clean parchment; spray with nonstick spray, and repeat baking with remaining batter.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling on flat side of 1 cake. Top with another cake, flat side down. Repeat with remaining cakes and filling. DO AHEAD Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature.

P.A.C. Crisp (pear, apple, cranberry)

Crisp ala mode, what could be better?

Yesterday we had an Autumn Family gathering with the other families from our playgroup we go to Thursday mornings. I made this delicious crisp, along with the help of my trusty 2.75 year old assistant. I have to say that this crisp is exceptionally tasty. No, let’s not kid ourselves…it’s a complete foreshadow of everything Autumn (which is a GOOD thing indeed).

I was looking for something rustic, simple, and a ‘knock your socks off type of good,’ to make for dessert. I actually had never made it before, but I knew my Ina Garten hadn’t let me down so far, and her Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook would for sure have a crisp recipe. I made a few adjustments from the original recipe, by using rapadura sugar, whole wheat pastry flour, using cranberries instead of dried, and adding cardamom (since there was orange in the recipe, cardamom screamed to be used). All of these made it taste great, especially the addition of cardamom.

The pears, apples, & cranberries sitting in sugary, spicy goodness.

Since my two year old helped make the crisp, she couldn’t stop talking about it the rest of the afternoon. The party was at 4:00 and she still needed to take a nap. She had a bit of a meltdown when I informed her that we weren’t going to the party quite yet, because she needed to take a nap. Her eyes quickly filled up with tears and some speaking in tongues began, to which effect something about not being able to eat the crisp was murmured. Poor girl, she even got a bit anxious as we were walking up to our friend’s door, where she looked around for the crisp then blurted with panic, “CRISP! CRISP?” And yes, she was the only kid at the dinner table eating her crisp after dinner, while all the others were playing downstairs (Then, was it bad to serve this for breakfast to her? I did put my foot down and say no to the ice cream she requested).

The crumb crust before entering the oven. Yes it’s a lot of topping, but keep piling it on.

And it must be said that I adore all of these ladies whom I get to share life with (almost) every week. We have been meeting weekly since just after V’s first birthday, which is almost two years now. I love how we have our similarities and differences, yet we still choose to be more than co-mothers, but friends. Each one of them brings a different gift to my life as a woman, wife & mom. There isn’t judgment on how we parent different or how we fail, but grace, because we understand (period). I also love how everyone is real & genuine. No one comes in with a, “Wow, I LOVE being a mother every second of the day (or everyday for that matter).” But there’s also not this, “Whoa, I hate being a mom and my kid is a….”

Instead, it’s a sincerity and a realness of “this mothering/parenting job is hard, and I don’t always like it, and I’m not going to be fake and make you think it’s the best job in the whole world 100% of the time. But I do value something higher, which means I will give up some of my rights, in order to provide my children with something greater. I not only value something higher, but love these stinkers so deep it hurts and am willing to go above & beyond for them.” That’s who these women are to me and I love them for it. So thanks Biz, Lindsey, Becky, Christine, Bethany, Megan & Talia–my Thursday mornings (although always running late & a bit disheveled) are my diamond in the rough as a stay at home mom and you ladies’ bring out a different spectrum of light in my diamond.

Last year’s Halloween party before many of the siblings were born.

P.A.C. Crisp (pear, apple, cranberry) (printable recipe)

Recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. **A little side note: If you’re not familiar with other sugars like rapadura, I would encourage you to start baking & cooking with them. I get mine from the bulk section at our local Co-op, which is cheaper than buying it pre-packaged in the health/natural section of your grocery store.** The recipe also called for Macoun apples, but I used what I had on hand and I’m not too particular when the recipe calls for say ‘Granny Smith.’ Instead, I use what I know could create a good end product and wouldn’t dissolve into mush (say Red Delicious). My apples came from a friend’s tree, so I have no idea what they are called.

Ingredients:

3 ripe Bosc pears

5 apples (I have no idea what kind I used)

3/4 cup frozen cranberries (that’s what I had on hand, but you could use fresh)

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Squeezed juice of one orange

Squeezed juice of one lemon

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice sugar (this is sugar which is less refined and has a golden color to it)

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Topping:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup rapadura sugar (however, I know most people don’t have this, so do 3/4 of the above sugars)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and core the pears & apples. Cut them into large chunks. Put the fruit into a large bowl, toss with cranberries, zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, & cardamom. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely. You’ll notice that this is a lot of crisp topping, but keep packing it on and you won’t be disappointed.

Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream to live on the wild side).

Maybe sitting by the fire eating the crisp with this little cutie could be better.

Pull out the recipe box

As I mentioned a couple posts back about my cooking class and all the wonderful food I enjoyed, but didn’t have the recipes quite yet. Well, I do now and I would love to share some of them with you. But before I do that…I have to tell you a rather sweet & lovely morning I woke up to.

First off, I had a date with Ben last night and dominated the conversation (thanks for listening). I dumped on him about how I’ve been feeling as a stay at home mom (ie trying to feed the kids in a fashionable time frame, wanting to enjoy a hot cup of coffee for once, trying really hard to run the inner workings of our house while spending quality time with my girls, etc etc etc). As he was listening, he asked, “what would your ideal day look like with the girls?” I think I repeated about three times, “well it would look like, no but that would be unrealistic,” while he would continue to say, “I didn’t ask what’s realistic, but idealistic” (here my realistic hubby telling his idealistic wife to stop being realistic–gotta love it).

So one of my answers was being able to enjoy a hot cup of coffee, sit down for breakfast all together and come home from Thursday playgroup with lunch already made to serve when we walk in the door (and a little bit more I’m leaving out, maybe it was a massage?). Well, listen he did. He took care of the oldest breakfast, had an americano for me and when I thought it couldn’t get any better…”here,” he said diverting my attention to a clear rubbermaid container, “a grilled cheese sandwich that just needs to be heated up and apple slices for the girl’s lunch.”

This is what hospitality looks like to a mother with two young children, who just the day before wanted to drive far, far away by herself. I’m blessed to have such a guy and I try really hard to not take it for granted. And as you read this and maybe make one of the recipes, I hope you will find someone you can bless through the simple act of hospitality, in the form of a meal.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

adapted from Thomas Keller, Ad Hoc

I personally am not a big fan of fried chicken, but I do believe some of you are…specifically Liz S.

Ingredients:

1 gallon cold water

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey

12 bay leaves

1 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

3 large rosemary sprigs

1 small bunch of thyme

1 small bunch of parsley

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

Two 3-pound chickens

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 cups buttermilk

Vegetable oil, for frying

Rosemary and thyme sprigs, for garnish

In a very large pot, combine 1 quart of the water with 1 cup of the salt and the honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Add the lemon zest and juice and the lemon halves and bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Let cool completely, then stir in the remaining 3 quarts of cold water. Add the chickens, being sure they’re completely submerged, and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the chickens and pat dry. Scrape off any herbs or peppercorns stuck to the skin and cut each bird into 8 pieces, keeping the breast meat on the bone.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Put the buttermilk in a large, shallow bowl. Working with a few pieces at a time, dip the chicken in the buttermilk, then dredge in the flour mixture, pressing so it adheres all over. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

In a very large, deep skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 330°. Fry the chicken in 2 or 3 batches over moderate heat, turning once, until golden and crunchy and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of each piece registers 160°, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to paper towels to drain, and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the remaining chicken pieces. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter, garnish with the herb sprigs and serve hot or at room temperature.

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

adapted Cooks Illustrated

These are truly a phenomenal buttermilk biscuit, which are super quick & easy.

Ingredients:

2 C flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 C buttermilk

Additional flour

2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Spray a 9 in springform or cake pan with some nonstick spray.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt to a bowl and mix the ingredients together evenly. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than a small pea. Fold in the buttermilk until everything is just blended, and there are no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix, the mixture should still be lumpy.

Line a plate or tray with some flour and using a 1/4 C measuring cup or 1/4 C ice cream/cookie scoop or eyeball it & use your hands, scoop out balls of the dough onto the tray of flour. Flour your hands and roll each ball around in the flour to evenly coat them in a layer of flour. The dough is very wet and very sticky. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan. Place 9 balls around in a ring and 3 balls in the center of the pan. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.

Bake for 5 minutes at 500ºF (middle rack) and then lower the temperature to 450ºF and bake for another 15 minutes.

Apple Tarte Tatin

Pate Brisee

12 oz flour, sifted

1 tsp salt

8 oz unsalted butter, diced

1/4 C club soda (more or less)

Put flour, salt, and butter in food processor. Mix until it looks like grated parmesan. Add club soda a little at a time until pastry forms a ball and does not stick to sides. Dump dough onto a flat surface and push it away from you using the ball of your hand. Do this two or three times. Combine into a disc using your hands (don’t worry it will look pretty crumbly, which is normal). Put dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Let it rest on countertop for 10-15 minutes, till a bit pliable. Then roll for your pie pan.

Ingredients for Apple Tarte Tatin

8 tart (granny smith) apples

3/4 C sugar

1/2 stick unsalted butter

creme fraiche to serve

You need an oven proof frying pan – cast-iron ovenproof frying pan is fine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel, halve, and core apples. Melt butter in pan on stove. Add sugar (just sprinkle it on top of the butter) and place the apples decoratively on top (cut side down). Cook slowly until caramelized. This can take up to one hour. Do not stir! (Clearly, low heat here.)

When cooked (check by lifting an apple and seeing what’s going on), remove from heat.

Roll the pastry, put it on top of the apples. Tuck the sides in. Cook in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove, take a flat dish and turn the tarte upsidedown. Serve warm with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream. You can also scrape a vanilla bean into the apples at the beginning of the caramelization and let the pod sit in there with them, too, but it’s not totally necessary.

Poached Pears

Ingredients

2 cups Orange Muscat
1 medium red beet (1/4 pound), peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
7-8 small firm-ripe pears (3/4 to 1 pound total), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored

Bring wine, beet, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and bay leaves to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quarts saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Add pears and cover with a round of parchment paper. Simmer, turning occasionally, until pears are tender and liquid is syrupy, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a bowl. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves and pour syrup over pears. Cool completely in syrup, about 30 minutes.

Poached pears can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Pumpkin Pecan Scones

Today at church service was the first day that I didn’t have either of my girls with me from start to finish. It was nice to be able to worship and take in those precious moments of simply being. Our church family is going through I Corinthians right now. Our teaching pastor, Jim, spoke about the crux in the Corinthians lives. He was relating it to his mountain climbing experience; with the crux being the challenge/obstacle in the climb to get over.

This central idea of the crux was woven throughout the message, and eventually got me asking, “What is the crux in my life’s journey? What is the crux in my journey via mothering…via marriage…via my growing up family?” Sometimes the crux is only there for a season in our lives and it strengthens us for future cruxes, which are five times larger. Other times the crux is something that keeps getting brought up. In those instances, maybe the crux keeps coming up because we truly haven’t dealt with it.

Just in the mountain climbing scenario, the crux is only truly conquered when we deal with it head on. We cannot ignore it, climb around, or sit beneath it; rather, we need to do the hard work and climb over it. I believe the best part about this is how Jesus is waiting for us to ask for his help. (He’s only going to help when I ask for it. He never forces himself on me) The same is true for friends & family helping us get over the crux; but, only when we ask for their help.

One of my cruxes is being too helpful when people are hurting, but they’re not willing to change. I take on more than I should bear and it slowly destroys me (something I am trying to climb over). It’s learning to set up boundaries, knowing when to say no, and stripping off the Savior complex (not an easy task). But I’m hopeful! And with that, these yummy scones are an easy way to be helpful to anyone you meet without taking on more than you should bear (except eating a few too many).

Pumpkin Pecan Scones (printable recipe)

I was looking to create a scone recipe based on a wonderful pumpkin cookie I made from here. Now if you’re one of those people who is impartial to Starbuck’s Pumpkin Scones than you need to make these. Because these ones will knock your socks off and the Starbucks version will be a distant memory, while you’ll be having a “define the relationship” with these pumpkin scones.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup sugar (I use unrefined)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I seriously believe freshly grated makes a difference, but you could use the ground nutmeg from the store)

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup buttermilk (extra for brushing the tops of the scone prior to baking)

1 cup pumpkin puree (I used my own pumpkin puree, because that’s what I do, but I understand not everyone has this fetish, so buy canned pumpkin)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup toasted & chopped pecans (plus some additional for topping, totally optional)

turbinado sugar for sprinkling

frosting recipe below

Preheat oven to 350. Dump both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices into a food processor. Process for 30 seconds (this will sift it, aerate it and incorporate all the ingredients). Dump the butter on top and pulse (for 1-2 second intervals) about 8-10 times. Dump contents into a large bowl & set aside.

Combine buttermilk, egg, pumpkin puree, & vanilla in a small bowl or mixing cup. With the dry ingredients, make a hole in the middle and pour wet ingredients into the hole. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula just till the wet & dry ingredients have been combined. You don’t want to over mix, because you’re aiming for a biscuit texture (which requires visible pieces of butter). Then, add the chopped pecans and combine with your hands (because that’s what they’re here for), once again being delicate with the dough. The dough should be a bit sticky, which is okay.

Separate the dough in half. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and form one of the halves into a circle. I don’t use a rolling pin, but use my hands to shape the dough into a circle measuring about 1/2 inch high and 6-8 inches round (really you’re aiming more for the 1/2 inch height and the diameter is merely a gauge). Cut into 8 pieces. Repeat process with the other half.

Put a sheet of parchment paper on baking sheet. Place the scones on top. Brush with buttermilk & sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes. **Make frosting after your scones are baked, because the frosting has little window in terms of pliability/workability.** Top with frosting/icing & a pecan (or a some chopped pecans). Serve with some coffee.

Frosting

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

4 teaspoons milk (I used whole milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

Combine butter, brown sugar, milk, & vanilla in saucepan over medium heat. Cook long enough to melt butter and sugar dissolves. Take off heat. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine till smooth. Use immediately by spreading on top of scones.

Heirloom Tomato Soup

Well, the week of Kamille is officially over as of a week ago. And although I was richly blessed by my husband for allowing me to take a three day cooking class, spend a couple evenings away from home and be creative away from typical mommy duties, it still made me feel like I wanted (and possibly needed) more time away. Is that horrible to say? I think I needed time to take in everything I learned, in order to apply it. But for anyone with small children knows, finding time to debrief is near impossible because life is always going.

However, after a couple days, I was able to apply some of my newly learned skills. My top priority being cutting apart a whole chicken and then making a stock out of the leftover chicken parts. So far I have two whole chickens cut down under my belt and about 100 more to go. It was great to make such simple dishes for dinner (using the chicken I cut up) and have Ben rave over them. He said of last night’s dinner (of roasted chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese & basil under the skin & roasted squash), “Mama, you did a good job! This is is what you would eat at a fancy restaurant.” I replied, “Are you teasing me?” Ben, “No, I’m serious!” What a great way to win over my heart (if you want to hit my soft spot you simply have to praise my cooking & baking…it doesn’t take much)

And I guess that’s what I have enjoyed about baking & cooking. It’s not only a simple (but big) way to show my family & friends I care for them—it is a means to allow the stresses of family, church, life, mommyhood to be taken from me for a short window. To simply peel potatoes & carrots is not an arduous job, but a time to think and let the cares of this world fall off my shoulder. To cut apart a chicken is not a complicated task, but a time to achieve something simple in a world so complex & difficult to grapple. To beat butter & sugar together at the mixer is not simply formulaic & mindless work, but a chance to watch the world unfold as freshly baked sweetness comes out of the oven. All of this is done to know myself in the midst of chaos and to know how to extend my world of blessing to someone who needs it most.

At my cooking class I made an Heirloom Tomato Soup. It was one of my favorite dishes, because it was a melding of complex and simple, much like life. It took only a handful of ingredients, but turned my mouth upside down as the flavors danced around.

Kamille’s Heirloom Tomato Soup (printable recipe)

Make a roux, which is a ratio of 55 flour to 45 fat (butter for this soup). Mix the ingredients together in a pan over medium high heat, constantly stirring until the roux forms a ball or it begins to smell like popcorn & hazelnuts. You can cook it as long as you like, but I cooked mine till it formed a tan color.

Ingredients:

Roux (transfer your roux from pan to a bowl to stop the cooking)

1 lb Heirloom tomatoes

1 garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

about 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock (if you want to make it vegetarian than use vegetable stock)

Salt to taste

Freshly cracked pepper & olive oil drizzled on top

1. Score the bottoms of your tomatoes with an X mark.

2. Blanch your tomatoes for 30 seconds in scalding water, then submerge in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

3. Peel the skin off (as much as you can) and dice up your tomatoes.

4. Add about a tablespoon or more of olive oil to your pan and saute your garlic & shallot until fragrant, but not browned. Add your tomatoes and chicken stock to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat to produce a boil, then lower heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

5. Take pan off heat and use an immersion blender to process tomato mixture (if you don’t have an immersion blender then use a regular blender, but blend in a couple batches). Take your roux and add about a tablespoon to your pureed tomato soup. Mix and taste. Add salt. Mix and taste. Pour into bowl and top with freshly cracked pepper and olive oil.

**Most important item in all of this is to taste during every process. Taste your pre-cooked and cooked roux. Taste the tomatoes, shallot, garlic & chicken stock mixture. Taste so you know how much salt you need to add. Also, don’t be afraid of the salt, it is an essential ingredient that makes food “pop,” especially tomatoes. Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy.

Summer Peach, Fall Apple, Hybrid Plum Jam

It’s a beautiful last day of summer with the projected forecast to hit a high of 79. Seems fitting to end summer on a warmer note. And although Autumn is my beloved of seasons (no doubt I pine for it’s arrival not long after it ends), the refreshment & excitement which summer sows is like that of a peach.

The other day while in the kitchen Ben said, “Wouldn’t you say that a nectarine or peach are the ultimate fruit?”

Me: “Yeah I would!”

Ben: (almost in a daze about it), “I mean, apples & bananas are good, but I could live without ’em.”

Me: “Yeah!”

Ben: “But a nectarine or a peach, I could eat those all the time. They’re juicy, sweet, and rarely disappoint.”

Me: “yeah I completely agree.”

Summer is peaches. It’s true, they rarely disappoint. They can quench both a thirst and a hunger inside. And there are so many things about Autumn that beat out summer in mind, but the fall apple doesn’t have anything on the summer peach. And as I was drinking a glass of water, clear, clean water, I paused and said, “Thank you God for this clean water that I take for granted! People in places like Haiti are without this simplest of gifts that I rarely rejoice in.”

And as I was thanking God for this simplest of gifts, it got me thinking about the ending of Summer and how I can steamroll ahead into Autumn, without a glimpse of a grateful heart for the summer. How I can tend to focus so much on the big picture, or my agenda, or who I want to become, or my goals, that I forget to delight in the little details of God’s goodness. Like my youngest clapping her hands for the first time, for oldest staying calm in the midst of struggling to put on her underwear, or the smell of fresh plum jam cooking on the stove top. It’s as my oldest says, “Gummies today the Lord has made?” Living in today, because the Lord has made it and delighting in it fully.

So as I breathe in the last of summer, so it only seems fitting to make a batch of plum jam. Thanks to my friend Megan who had an exploding Italian plum tree in their yard.

Plum Jam

It’s a hybrid not because it comes from a hybrid plum tree, but it’s a hybrid of two seasons colliding. This recipe is from the magazine Food & Wine, which can be found here. Note that when it says to squeeze the lemon over the plums, you are then suppose to add the squeezed lemon in with the mixture (as seen in my pics).

Plums sitting in sugar for an hour.

Cooking jam with half of lemon on top.

Wonderful afternoon snack, only thing missing is a cup of tea.

My Roots

I’m notorious for asking people, “What would be your last supper? I mean if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, or on death row, what would be that last ultimate meal?” Some people answer with something incredibly elegant (think five stars). However, I think most people go back to comfort. In fact, when Ben’s office had a celebration dinner for his five year anniversary, his co-worker called to see about his favorites. All of them very simple comfort foods (garlic mashed potatoes, steak, chocolate cake with ice cream).

Mine are Mexican comfort foods. Growing up in Yuma, AZ (a border town) has quintessential Mexican food. There are the special Mexican restaurants in Yuma, the taco stand 10 miles west from Yuma in Algodones, Mexico or in my adopted family’s home, where Mrs. Carrillo taught me how to make nopales con carne & Mr. Carrillo taught me the value of using salt to suck out the flare of jalapenos on my tongue. One of my favorites is Machaca, but not machaca huevos. The best is the machaca burrito from the beloved Chili Pepper (sidenote: it’s great how people who grew up in Yuma and moved away still salivate hearing the words…a B&C burrito (bean & cheese)…and upon return will stop at Chili Pepper before seeing the folks). The machaca burrito is a savory meat at it’s best. Truly there is something comforting about sucking out flavorful juices from this slowly simmered shredded beef.

So if I had one last meal, I would definitely have a machaca burrito on the menu. What would yours be?

Machaca Tacos (printable recipe)

I know many Americans prefer flour tortillas; but, please do yourself a favor and use warmed corn tortillas and you won’t regret it. However, if you make burritos than use homemade flour tortillas. Recipe adapted from http://www.texascooking.com

Marinade Ingredients:

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
juice of two limes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil

Machaca Ingredients:

2-3 lb Flank Steak
1 large yellow onion
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, minced
1-14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco)
salt & pepper to taste
vegetable oil for searing beef.

For the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl then whisk to an emulsion. Add the beef making sure every piece is evenly coated. Cover & refrigerate overnight. Before preparing, drain thoroughly and allow meat to come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, heat a few tablespoons of ol over medium-high heat until very hot. Sear the beef until a rich brown color is developed on all sides, as well as bottom of pan.

When all the beef is browned nicely and removed from the pan, add the onions, peppers and garlic to the hot pan. Saute for a few minutes then add the remaining ingredients to the pan along with the beef. Bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer slowly for about 2 1/2 hours. The meat should be very tender and should easily fall apart when pricked with a fork.

You can either take the meat to a cutting board to pull it apart with forks, or do it right in the pot. Once you shred it, cook it on simmer for another 30-45 minutes.

Heat the tortillas on stove top for best results.

**I liked mine a bit liquidy, but you can cook in the last part until the liquid is reduced and very thick.

Tina’s PSL

PSL

What exactly is a PSL you ask? I had the same question as I was reading a good friend’s Facebook status. She wrote that she had her first PSL of the season and then a lot of Fall connotations. What was worst were the people commenting as if they had a clue as to what this PSL she spoke of. It was finally about 8 hours when enlightenment hit. The acronym code was broken…”Pumpkin Spice Latte!!”

Now it must be said that I am personally not a huge pumpkin fan. There are those who love everything pumpkin, those who cannot stand it, and those who are a bit impartial. Growing up I didn’t like anything pumpkin. For instance, the only pumpkin pie available in my house during Thanksgiving was the one from the grocery store. Neither mom or dad did much of baking pumpkin quick bread, pumpkin cookies, or pumpkin anything. Funny thing is when I entered college I got back to my middle school roots of home economics and my love of baking & cooking, which eventually led me to the “pumpkin.”

mise en place

I feel like one true sign of an affinity to baking is when you use ingredients that you may not personally adore, but use them to bless others that do. This is pumpkin for me (to some degree, as I’m not a lover nor a hater). However, you wouldn’t know this as I buy a sweet meat squash every year fall, bake it, puree it and freeze parts of it for later use. I guess most of this is aside from the point, well…onto the recipe I found for making your very own PSL at home.

Frothed & Steamed Pumpkin Spiced Milk

Shots of espresso

I definitely think this is intended for whipped cream, don’t skimp!

PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte)

This recipe is taken from Baking and Books, with a little adaptation.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk (use whatever kind you typically drink)

a pinch of ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon raw sugar or rapadura sugar (these are different & I used rapadura as I’m trying to use less refined sugars)

2 shots of espresso

2 tablespoons half & half

1-3 teaspoons raw sugar

Whipped cream

Combine milk, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, vanilla & 1/2 tablespoon sugar in a blender. Blend till frothy. Steam milk mixture to 160 degrees, or you can heat in a pan on top of the stove over low-medium heat till milk is 160 (be sure to stir if on top of stove).

Pull two espresso shots and pour in cup. Add warmed pumpkin milk, along with 1 tablespoon half & half, to your shots of espresso. If you taste your latte at this point all you will taste is spiced flavored milk and it’s not as appealing, so add however many teaspoons of sugar to the pumpkin milk until it reaches the right sweetness factor. Top with as much whipped cream as you’d like. Sprinkle a bit of nutmeg on top and cozy up to a good book.

(clockwise) Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & rapadura sugar

**I would say the one downside to this recipe is the last two drinks, because the spices settle to the bottom of the cup leaving a bit of spice soot. I think the only way to counter this would be to seep the milk in whole cloves, nutmeg & cinnamon sticks; however, that would take a much longer time than it’s worth.